Sheesh, it’s already been almost three weeks since my last post.  Good thing no one reads this thing.

Anyway, a slew of updates for qrisper.com.

• totally redesigned the layout…well, not really.  Just got rid of the image tabs and combined the center columns.  I spent so much time making those tabs though…oh well.  I’ve been meaning to get rid of them…just couldn’t get myself to do it.  I think the site looks cleaner and more open.
• also changed the content, design and navigation of the logged in pages.  The question page contains one question and a bunch of your recently answered questions.  Still trying to add the answers of the people you follow.  I’m basically ripping off Twitter.  But hey, whatever works right?
• added a feedback tab to give it more of a presence.  Hopefully, users will hear the feedback tab beckoning for feedback and do its bidding.
• fixed the user thumbnail uploader.  So you can upload pictures of yourselves into qrisper.  Hooray!  Problem was that I was trying to insert the image path into a mySQL table when I should have been updating the table.  Duh.
• built out the account settings page.  Now you can update your info, password and profile pic.  Still working on the functionality that will autopost your answers to Twitter.
• built out the find and follow people page.
• added the timestamp of when you answered the question.  That was one major pain in the ass.  Could not for the life of me figure out the proper syntax for the mySQL query.
• last but not least, I create profile pages for each user.  Whereas before you could only see your own activity, you can now peruse other users’ answers and questions.  Much easier than I had expected.

With all of that accomplished, I felt pretty good for like a minute.  But there’s still so much that I need to do.  I want to integrate Facebook Connect and create a FB page for qrisper.  Need to get the Twitter post working.  Also need to add a few more navigational features and content.  But I finally feel like I’m getting close to an official launch.  Been thinking long and hard about how to approach that.  Just gotta do it I guess.

I’ve been mostly in planning and thought mode for the past two weeks.  But here are a few updates.

• added a new image uploader for user profile thumbnails.  The upload process works but still having issues with updating the mySQL table with the image path.  Still a work in progress…
• created a new account settings page where users can manage their info, password and profile pic.
• created a user-follow functionality that will allow users to follow other people and their answers.  The following functionality works but still having issues with displaying friends’ answers in the users’ question page.  Still a work in progress…
• created a new find page for searching other users and to keep track of followers and followings
• there’s a new recent tab in the main homepage where users can now see the most recent answers as well as the most recent suggested questions

I also have a new forum in progress but still debating whether or not I need such a heavy platform.  Thinking about setting up a Twitter account to keep track of feedback and questions.  Also looking into Get Satisfaction…though I really don’t like their feedback tab on the side of the screen.

I’ve also been testing out Twitterfeed and other similar services to figure out how I can let users tweet qrisper answers to Twitter.  Still working on that.  And finally, being the optimist that I am, I’ve been researching AWS because I’m certain that qrisper will have a massive spike in usage with the next 10 years.  Have to be prepared for that eventuality.

Wow, all of a sudden, everyone is talking about how Twitter is a real-time search engine.  Definitely have a few reservations about that.  How does “What are you doing?” translate into relevant search results?  Not very well at the moment except for a few well publicized events.  But what do I know?  Maybe Twitter will figure out a way to alter user behavior so that people will enter concise, meaningful posts more often than not.

One thing’s for sure…qrisper finally has some competition.

A little behind on my posts.  Had to serve jury duty…thought it was going to be a bigger hassle.  But had a few lucky breaks – three actually – that resulted in my service being required for only one day.

First, out of the 300+ people waiting in the room to be called, I was one of the first 20 called for jury selection.  Next, out of the 20 people facing two lawyers waiting to get selected or rejected, I was one of the first six called out for questioning.  All six of us were chosen to serve (plus one alternate).  However, as luck would have it, we were selected for a summary jury trial, which typically lasts for no more than a day.  To speed up the process even further, we were treated to lunch while we deliberated.  Free meals always make up for something.

It was a bit of a surreal experience for me.  I was like, “wait, am I really here listening to these lawyers and arguing with these strangers?”  I took on my typical role as Devil’s Advocate, which resulted in the Plaintiff getting an extra $2500, which I though was fair.  The other jurors were all amicable and the experience overall was rather pleasant.  And I made 40 bucks.  Woohoo!